Hurricane season is about to heat up

The hurricane season in the Atlantic began on 1 June and ends on 30 November. The Pacific hurricane season began on 15 May and also ends on 30 November. 

"We're at the period when you start to see these waves rolling off of Africa. Everything is in place for a really active year," Gerry Bell, lead forecaster for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Climate Prediction Center told the Sydney Morning Herald.

During such "active years", there is a 90 per cent chance of a hurricane strike somewhere along the US east coast and an 80 per cent chance of a Gulf Coast landfall. The reasons for the storm activity: record warm temperatures in the Atlantic Ocean and La Niña. This weather phenomenon makes it easier for hurricanes to start and strengthen.